Shared vision renders Free and Open Indo-Pacific that’s connected, prosperous, resilient, secure

FORUM Staff

Implementation of the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy is progressing, a recent study shows. Collaboration among Allies and Partners has reached levels that make the region and the U.S. more prosperous and secure than ever, officials said.

Since launching its strategy, the U.S. has revitalized and set new benchmarks for regional interactions. U.S. policymakers, diplomats and military leaders have met with Indo-Pacific counterparts to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relationships, bolster economies, and address challenges such as disaster recovery and climate change.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has worked to partner Indo-Pacific states with European counterparts. “Today, we see a recognition both in Europe and the Indo-Pacific that the opportunities and challenges in one region directly affect the other,” the White House stated February 11, 2024.

AidData, a research laboratory at the U.S.-based College of William & Mary’s Global Research Institute, tracked the economic value of U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific from 2012-22. Assessing data from 46 regional economies, the lab reported in February 2024 that U.S. trade, aid, remittances and foreign direct investment totaled $24.5 trillion and grew by 18% over that period. Pacific island economies were among the greatest per capita beneficiaries, said Samantha Custer, AidData’s director of policy analysis. In addition to U.S. government investments, U.S. companies increasingly are major trading partners in the region and private philanthropies also contribute substantially, she said.

AidData’s research shows the U.S. has evolved from aid provider to investment partner in the region.

Among the U.S. entities executing the strategy: the Commerce, Defense and State departments; the Agency for International Development; and the Trade and Development Agency. “The United States continues to demonstrate leadership and commitment to the Indo-Pacific, reinforcing the region’s capacity and resilience to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and showing that we can build a better future together,” the U.S. State Department said.

The Indo-Pacific accounts for more than half of the world’s population and 60% of global gross domestic product, the U.S. State Department reported. Trade between the U.S. and the region exceeded $2 trillion in 2022.

Adm. John Aquilino, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, called the region the world’s most consequential theater. “So, we have to address the security challenges and we need to understand that for the United States, as well as our Allies and Partners, we’re not going to do this alone and it’s going to take all forms of power of our government,” he said at a Pacific Forum conference in Hawaii in January 2024.